A biopic based on the life of author J.R.R. Tolkien is in the works, giving moviegoers a look at the man who created Middle Earth.
The project is currently titled Tolkien and will look at the man who wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. According to a source for The Los Angeles Times, the Fox Searchlight project will focus on Tolkien’s years at Pembroke College and his service during World War I, which influenced his most famous works. David Gleeson, a fan of the author’s works, has written the screenplay and Chernin Entertainment (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) is producing.
Gleeson wrote the 2003 film Cowboys and Angels. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Irish writer also penned the sci-fi spec script End of History.
Tolkien’s life has never been the subject of a biopic. One attempt, called Mirkwood that would have focused squarely on his WWI work as a codebreaker, was shut down by his estate. It’s still not known if the estate is cooperating with Gleeson’s project.
Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films were all huge successes and movies based on his works have grossed $4 billion. The hope for Gleeson and Fox Searchlight has to be that if people are that interested in the stories, they might be interested in the man who wrote them.
Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens next month.
image: Wikimedia Commons
